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Melessa Templeton
"Lady" Melessa Templeton is a mercenary who has sworn off life as a noble after coming to terms with the fact that she would never be able to pursue the life she wanted as a noblewoman, which is that of a respected warrior. She is an able traveller and, being from a greater knightly house, is quite skilled with the sword. Posts Started By No, Not "M'Lady!" (03/07/15) Commented On Details Appearance Taller than the average woman at five foot eleven, Melessa Templeton is a fit and durable looking woman who often dresses in commoner garbs and light leather armor. Due to a habit of being outdoors very often, her armor is often lightly damaged, and brown hair dirty from time to time. She possesses some scarring along her left thigh, which she claims was given to her several years ago by "the biggest damn wolf I've ever laid my eyes on." Attributes Melessa possesses the following attributes. * Gifts: Martially Adept * Skills: Climbing, Hunting, Swords * Negative Traits: Scarring (Left Thigh) Biography The Wonder Years Born to Knight of the Ninestars Lord Eddard Templeton and Lady Bethany Templeton (nee Bole) in 341 AC, Melessa Templeton always aspired to lead the same life as her male counterparts in the family. From the age of five, Melessa wanted to train with the sword and dreamed of being a great knight. Lord Eddard scoffed at this, reminding Melessa that women were not knighted. Despite the beliefs of Lord Eddard, Melessa's eldest brother Ramsay agreed to help train her in his spare time. When their father found out, he encouraged Melessa to stop pursuing such unrealistic fantasies. Melessa refused to abandon her ambitions, her stubborn refusal to let go of her dream spurring her on and making her even more determined. A few years later, Lord Eddard grumpily sent Ramsay away to squire away from Ninestars under the assumption that this would make his daughter abandon her silly notions of being a knight. Instead, Melessa simply turned to her other older brother, Cleyton, and asked for him to train alongside her. Cleyton reluctantly agreed, knowing that his sister's dream was a foolish one but not wanting to upset her by refusing to help her. Melessa's third brother Kevan, three years younger than her, was soon taken on by Lord Eddard as his page. This upset Melessa, as she had been working hard to impress her father. Everything her brothers had been able to do at her age, she had proven to be able to do even better. Melessa knew in her heart that she had the ability to surpass all of her brothers, who would likely all serve as knights one day. However, things began to look up for Melessa when her eldest brother Ramsay returned after being away for seven years, now fully knighted. Always being close to his sister, he wished to see how far she had come. When she demonstrated excellent abilities with the sword for a fourteen year old girl, Ramsay decided to spit in the face of tradition and told their father that he intended on taking Melessa on as a squire. Lord Eddard, furious with this, said that he wouldn't stand for his daughter's head being filled with hopes and dreams that she would never be able to realize. He promptly reached out towards House Grafton and a marriage between Melessa and House Grafton's youngest son was arranged. The marriage was intended to take place when the boy would come of age. Two years later, Melessa knew that the marriage was nearly at her doorstep. Still being taught by Ramsay, Melessa was exhibiting skills that surprised her brother. Desperate to show her father what she was capable of, she pulled her brother Cleyton out into the courtyard of Ninestars where she had a friendly duel of skill with him using wooden training blades. Despite Lord Eddard ordering his two children to cease what they were doing, neither backed down. Melessa wanted to show once and for all what she was growing capable of while Cleyton simply refused to be beaten by a girl. Unfortunately for Cleyton, he was absolutely humiliated by his sister in the duel and failed to even come close to landing a hit on her. The duel ended with Cleyton laying on his back in the dirt, his sister's wooden blade pointed at his neck as she grinned at him. Lord Eddard, furious that the promising Cleyton was shamed by Melessa, sent ravens to House Grafton demanding the marriage take place immediately. A date was soon set and, when preparations began to take place and Melessa was shown her dress, the young woman swore that she refused to be "married off to some dumb lord" and said that she was going to do what she wanted, even if it meant abandoning her pampered life in such a strong and wealthy knightly house. Into The Great Wide Open Melessa made good on defying her threats, promptly taking her father's longsword, Glory, out of spite. Fleeing from Ninestars, Melessa headed into the wilds of the Vale with nothing other than Glory and the clothes she wore. Despite her ill preparations, Melessa was able to survive for a few weeks off of berries and the odd fish she was able to catch (despite innumerable attempts). In time, she would eventually find herself in Old Anchor where she was able to trade fish for a small sum of gold, which allowed her to find passage to Gulltown via boat. Despite House Grafton ruling over Gulltown, Melessa was unphased. The Graftons had never met her, and she doubted that her father would assume that she would run off to the very city in which she was being sent to live against her will. In Gulltown, Melessa was able to start doing odd jobs for various inhabitants and rich merchants of the city. She simply referred to herself as "Mel the mercenary" to those looking to hire her, and she quickly garnered a reputation as a dependable mercenary and excellent fighter. However, when word of her skills with the sword began to pick up too much steam, Melessa began to worry that the wrong people would catch wind of it and decided to move on from Gulltown. After using her earnings to purchase a horse, Melessa had set out westward along the Bay of Crabs. Countless days rolled by until she and her horse eventually reached Saltpans. It was here where Melessa purchased a small lockbox, putting her earnings inside and intending on buying a property in or around the town. Before doing so, she wanted to go on a brief adventure. Melessa had never seen the Mountains of the Moon up close and wanted to do so. Taking her horse and Glory, she set out for the mountains. After crossing the Highroad, it wasn't long until she ran into unexpected trouble from a mountain clan. Her attackers wasted no time in spearing her horse and capturing her. After returning to a nearby camp, Melessa learned that they intended to kill her and take her belongings after having their way with her first. Not keen on the idea, she promptly spoke up and asked if they would let her go if they bested their leader in combat. The clan scoffed at her idea, unable to comprehend the idea of their chief being beaten by a noblewoman. Believing that she was setting herself up to fail, the clan's chief agreed. With Glory in hand, Melessa felt a hint of apprehension when the chief appeared with two longswords that were surely stolen off of other victims. When the signal was given to start the fight, the chief charged Melessa like a savage barbarian. The clan cheered on their leader, laughing hysterically at the forthcoming fight. Unfortunately, they were so carried away with their laughter that they failed to notice their chief being bested with ease almost immediately. When they clued in to what was happening, he was already laying on the ground and bleeding out. The mountain clan was furious at first and prepared to attack Melessa but, when she reminded them of their deal, they backed off and acknowledged that they respected fighting prowess and strength. They conceded that the woman before them had demonstrated more skill than perhaps all of the men they had harassed previously. Despite strangely being on the clan's good side with her display, Melessa wasted no time in departing and returning to Saltpans several days later. Back in Saltpans, Melessa was torn between settling in the town she was in or further distancing herself from any possibility of being found out by her family. Even though several years had passed and they had never found her, Melessa still suspected that her father would jump at the chance to reel her back in and marry her off. Confident that she was able to resist anyone ever trying to control her, she abandoned her "Mel the mercenary" title and took on a few final jobs in Saltpans under her true name of Melessa Templeton. The name garnered surprise, but the inhabitants of the town did not seem inclined to question what she was doing all the way across the Vale from her home in Ninestars. After purchasing rations and supplies for the road, Melessa put aside the rest of her gold and set out on foot. Her eyes were cast further into the Riverlands, the idea of finding followers beginning to appeal to her. It would, after all, prevent her from being captured by barbaric mountain dwellers again. Believing that anyone who witnessed her skills and needed work would pledge to work with her, Melessa began her new trek by heading in the direction of the Kingsroad. Timeline * 336 AC - First son Ramsay born to Lord Eddard Templeton and Lady Bethany Templeton (nee Bole). * 339 AC - Second son Cleyton born to Lord Eddard and Lady Bethany. * 341 AC - First and only daughter Melessa born to Lord Eddard and Lady Bethany. * 344 AC - Third son Kevan born to Lord Eddard and Lady Bethany. * 346 AC - Melessa decides from a young age that she wants to wants to grow up to fight like her brothers Ramsay and Cleyton one day will. Lord Eddard refuses his daughter's notion. * 347 AC - Melessa begins sparring with her eldest brother Ramsay, even in spite of their father viewing it as a waste of time. * 348 AC - Ramsay Templeton begins squiring for a knight away from Ninestars. Melessa convinces brother Cleyton to spar with her in Ramsay's stead. * 350 AC - Then nine year old Melessa is angered when younger brother Kevan begins to page for their father, with her being ignored. * 352 AC - Cleyton begins squiring for Lord Eddard, his duties not giving him enough time to train with his sister. * 355 AC - Ser Ramsay Templeton returns home, now knighted. Against his father's wishes, Ramsay proclaims that he will take his sister on as a squire. * 356 AC - Lord Eddard arranges to have Melessa married off to the Graftons when their youngest son comes of age. * 358 AC - Still being taught by her eldest brother, Melessa began to exhibit skills with the sword equal to any man in the Templeton family. * 359 AC - Melessa bests her brother Cleyton in a friendly duel, shaming him and angering Lord Eddard. * 360 AC - Lord Eddard reaches out to House Grafton, demanding the marriage takes place as soon as possible. * 361 AC - A marriage date is arranged and preparations begin, prompting Melessa to turn her back on the arrangement and run away from home. * 362 AC - Melessa's low key life amongst the commoners and wilderness begins as she continues to hone her abilities by herself. * 365 AC - Melessa is taken captive by a mountain clan, but is let go after she wins a test of skill intended to decide her fate. * 366 AC - Taking on odd jobs for minor houses as a mercenary, Melessa began to save gold with the intention of forming her own mercenary company one day. Family * Father: Knight of the Ninestars, Lord Eddard Templeton (Aged 57) * Mother: Lady Bethany Templeton, nee Bole (Aged 49) * Brother: Ser Ramsay Templeton (Aged 32) * Brother: Cleyton Templeton (Aged 29) * Brother: Kevan Templeton (Aged 24) Category:Valeman Category:House Templeton Category:Mercenary